Pros and cons of PTA?

I have absolutely no skills or talents lol so I don't know how I'd contribute to a PTA, but my son is entering Kindergarten in September and he's my only child, and would love to be involved. I have different days off during the week, so at times I'm mostly off weekdays, depending. Just wanted to know from anyone with experience the pros/cons of being a pta member. Thanks!

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

I cant wait to see the replys here because I am in the same position.

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

Pros - you make lots of friends and your children make lots of friends. You often times know whats going on before other parents.

Cons - Meetings are often times at 7 or so. For me thats hard b/c I dont want to bring my kids. They NEED parents so if you volunteer they WILL use you for everything, or as much as they can get you to do. Theyre usually looking for help collecting fundraisers, handing them out, planning parties etc. It can be overwhelming.

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

I'm very ready to get involved in our PTA. I have heard a lot of the pros and cons and I decided that it's right for me. Our school needed a new chairperson for the Legislative Committee and I applied & just found out that they picked me. They like to have an attorney in the position. You never know how your background can help! It will require a lot of meetings because I have to go to our school's PTA meetings and the district PTA Council but I am ready for meetings. I just finished a term on the board of another organization and that required a similar meeting schedule to the PTA. If you can find out whether your PTA is a nice group that can help you decide.

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

I joined the PTA ths year. I can't say I'm actively involved, because I never attend the meetings- I work evenings. But I do volunteer for stuff during the year because my days are more flexible. I came in and read to the class, I came in to do a Chanukah project with them, I volunteered at the book fare, and I spent hours helping set up for the carnival- which we also didn't attend because we left for vacation that day. I found it to be a very positive experience because I was as involved as I chose to be. For the moms/dads who head it all up, it's a ton of work. Way mre then I would ever want to, or honestly be even capable, of taking on. I give them a lot of credit.

Pros and cons of PTA?

Definitely get involved. You can do as much or as little as you want. They are always looking for volunteers to help out during fundraisers, school pictures, book fair, holiday boutique, etc. If you start running for one of the officer positions it gets alot more time consuming with multiple meetings, planning sessions and paperwork, but well worth it if you have the time. I also believe that face time at the school and with administration can only be beneficial to you and your child. I will say though that alot of PTAs are VERY cliquey, so don't take offense it takes a few meetings for them to warm up to you!!

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

I am scheduled to volunteer 2 days a week. dh is one afternoon a week.

27 kids in a kindergarten class, one 1/2 day aid...
we are going to give it a whirl and observe...they have no volunteers and was shocked that dh and i showed up already fingerprinted.

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

I agree that getting involved with the PTA is a great way to meet lots of moms and get to know everything that is going on in your child's school. At our school there were sign up sheets for all the different committees and you get to pick and choose which ones to join. I really enjoyed helping the children holiday shop for their families, the book fairs, bingo night, plant sales and family fun nights. I think I tried everything! lol By the time my son was in first grade I was chairing halloween family fun night and did that for 3 years. It was wonderful to see it all come together for the whole school. When my second child was in 4 & 5 I was the VP and that was A LOT of work and politics, so I didn't enjoy it as much. Plus I was 8 months pregnant and then had a newborn so that made it difficult. One thing that we started was every other month the meetings would be right after school with babysitting for the children. That was nice for those that couldn't come at night. So definitely join, your child will love seeing you around the school once in awhile!

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

Try it and see how you like it. Go to the first few meetings and observe. You can then decided how involved you want to get.

Personally I find it a great way to really participate in DS's school.

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

Our PTA has 4 pages of committees that you can join. I just did my first activity yesterday - stuffing folders for the first day of school!

It's a great way to get involved with your kids education, and get to know the teachers better.

Since this is my first year I am not volunteering for too many things bc I want to see how it goes.

Re: Pros and cons of PTA?

I don't see any real 'cons' to joining the PTA. You meet other parents and you'll find it easier to create playdates for your kids outside of their classroom. You get informed, you have a voice and you can participate in an impactful way. You get to know the adminstration a little better.

AND you do not HAVE to go to meetings if you don't want to (although.. a good part of the benefit is lost if you never go). You don't HAVE to participate in any of the events if you don't want to.

There is really and truly something that every mom can do regardless of skill set.. be it working the book or plant sale or Family Fun Night.. or calling parents to organize who will bring what to the Thanksgiving feast.

Bottomline, the membership fee goes right back to events and fun things for your kids, so paying is kind of a no-brainer. Participating is up to you.. so show up, see what you think and make your decision as to how involved you want to be from there!